0000000000017160
AUTHOR
Enrique Sanchis
Installation and commissioning of the TileCal Read-Out Drivers
TileCal is the hadronic tile calorimeter of the ATLAS experiment at LHC/CERN. The main component of the TileCal back-end electronics is the Read-Out Driver (ROD). The ROD system is placed between the first and the second level trigger and it is the responsible for processing the data gathered by the detector. The principal devices of the RODs are the Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) mounted in the Processing Units (PUs) daughterboards. The architecture and functionality of the RODs are briefly explained. Then, it is presented the ROD system installation in the ATLAS electronics cavern. Currently, the RODs are being used for the detector commissioning. It is detailed the Detector and Verific…
Digital pulse-shape analysis with a TRACE early silicon prototype
[EN] A highly segmented silicon-pad detector prototype has been tested to explore the performance of the digital pulse shape analysis in the discrimination of the particles reaching the silicon detector. For the first time a 200 tun thin silicon detector, grown using an ordinary floating zone technique, has been shown to exhibit a level discrimination thanks to the fine segmentation. Light-charged particles down to few MeV have been separated, including their punch-through. A coaxial HPGe detector in time coincidence has further confirmed the quality of the particle discrimination. K.; 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Infrared thermal imaging in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
OBJECTIVE. Musculoskeletal injuries occur frequently. Diagnostic tests using ionizing radiation can lead to problems for patients, and infrared thermal imaging could be useful when diagnosing these injuries. CONCLUSION. A systematic review was performed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of infrared thermal imaging in patients with musculoskeletal injuries. A meta-analysis of three studies evaluating stress fractures was performed and found a lack of support for the usefulness of infrared thermal imaging in musculoskeletal injuries diagnosis.
Evaluation of a Commercial PhotoDiode Array for Radiation Detectors Readout
The aim of the present work is the characterization of the new S8866-128-02 PhotoDiode (PD) array from Hamamatsu Photonics. This work includes the implementation of a readout system as well as electronic noise estimation in PDs under several conditions varying integration times and clock frequencies.
ATLAS TileCal Read Out Driver production
The production tests of the 38 ATLAS TileCal Read Out Drivers (RODs) are presented in this paper. The hardware specifications and firmware functionality of the RODs modules, the test-bench and the test procedure to qualify the boards are described. Finally the performance results, the temperature studies and high rate tests are shown and discussed.
The optical instrumentation of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter
The purpose of this Note is to describe the optical assembly procedure called here Optical Instrumentation and the quality tests conducted on the assembled units. Altogether, 65 Barrel (or LB) modules were constructed - including one spare - together with 129 Extended Barrel (EB) modules (including one spare). The LB modules were mechanically assembled at JINR (Dubna, Russia) and transported to CERN, where the optical instrumentation was performed with personnel contributed by several Institutes. The modules composing one of the two Extended Barrels (known as EBA) were mechanically assembled in the USA, and instrumented in two US locations (ANL, U. of Michigan), while the modules of the oth…
A Matlab based interface for infrared thermographic diagnosis of pediatric musculoskeletal injuries
Abstract Background and objective One of the main causes of emergency medical consultations done by children are musculoskeletal injures. In such cases, radiological tests are a common practice to diagnose the gravity of the trauma and determine the likely existence of a fracture. In order to avoid, or at least to reduce, the use of ionizing radiations with children, the infrared thermographic technique was studied as an alternative solution, since it is a non-harmful, non-invasive and non-contact technique, without excessive technical complications and moderate cost when compared to other types of imaging tools. Methodology When an infrared thermographic diagnostic test is performed, and o…
DSP Online Algorithms for The ATLAS TileCal Read-Out Drivers
TileCal is the hadronic tile calorimeter of the ATLAS experiment at LHC/CERN. The central element of the back-end system of the TileCal detector is the read-out driver (ROD).The main components of the TileCal ROD are the digital signal processors (DSPs) placed on the processing unit (PU) daughterboards. This paper presents a detailed description of the code developed for the DSPs. The code is divided into two different parts: the first part contains the core functionalities and the second part the reconstruction algorithms. The core acts as an operating system and controls configuration, data reception and transmission and synchronization between front-end data and the timing, trigger and c…
Measurement of the proton-antiproton total cross section at the SppS collider by a luminosity dependent method
Abstract The proton-antiproton total cross section was measured at the center-of-mass energy of s = 541 GeV at the S p pS at CERN using a luminosity dependent method. The result σtot=63.0±2.1 mb is in agreement with the luminosity independent measurement performed earlier by the UA4 Collaboration.
Functional super Read-Out Driver demonstrator for the Phase II Upgrade of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter
This work presents the implementation of a functional super Read-Out Driver (sROD) demonstrator for the Phase II Upgrade of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter (TileCal) in the LHC experiment. The proposed front-end for the Phase II Upgrade communicates with back-end electronics using a multifiber optical connector with a data rate of 57.6 Gbps using the GBT protocol. This functional sROD demonstrator aims to help in the understanding of the problems that could arise in the upgrade of back-end electronics. The demonstrator is composed of three different boards that have been developed in the framework of ATLAS activities: the Optical Multiplexer Board (OMB), the Read-Out Driver (ROD) and the Optical…
Neutron detection and γ-ray suppression using artificial neural networks with the liquid scintillators BC-501A and BC-537
Abstract In this work we present a comparison between the two liquid scintillators BC-501A and BC-537 in terms of their performance regarding the pulse-shape discrimination between neutrons and γ rays. Special emphasis is put on the application of artificial neural networks . The results show a systematically higher γ -ray rejection ratio for BC-501A compared to BC-537 applying the commonly used charge comparison method. Using the artificial neural network approach the discrimination quality was improved to more than 95% rejection efficiency of γ rays over the energy range 150 to 1000 keV for both BC-501A and BC-537. However, due to the larger light output of BC-501A compared to BC-537, neu…
Phantom development for daily checks in electron intraoperative radiotherapy with a mobile linac.
Abstract Purpose IORT with mobile linear accelerators is a well-established modality where the dose rate and, therefore, the dose per pulse are very high. The constancy of the dosimetric parameters of the accelerator has to be checked daily. The aim of this work is to develop a phantom with embedded detectors to improve both accuracy and efficiency in the daily test of an IORT linac at the surgery room. Methods The developed phantom is manufactured with transparent polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), allocating 6 parallel-plate chambers: a central one to evaluate the on-axis beam output, another on-axis one placed at a fixed depth under the previous one to evaluate the energy constancy and four…
Testbeam studies of production modules of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter
We report test beam studies of {11\,\%} of the production ATLAS Tile Calorimeter modules. The modules were equipped with production front-end electronics and all the calibration systems planned for the final detector. The studies used muon, electron and hadron beams ranging in energy from 3~GeV to 350~GeV. Two independent studies showed that the light yield of the calorimeter was $\sim 70$~pe/GeV, exceeding the design goal by {40\,\%}. Electron beams provided a calibration of the modules at the electromagnetic energy scale. Over 200~calorimeter cells the variation of the response was {2.4\,\%}. The linearity with energy was also measured. Muon beams provided an intercalibration of the respo…
Monte Carlo simulation of a single detector unit for the neutron detector array NEDA
WOS: 000301813500009
Effects of one valence proton on seniority and angular momentum of neutrons in neutron-rich Sb51122–131 isotopes
Background: Levels fulfilling the seniority scheme and relevant isomers are commonly observed features in semimagic nuclei; for example, in Sn isotopes (Z=50). Seniority isomers in Sn, with dominantly pure neutron configurations, directly probe the underlying neutron-neutron (νν) interaction. Furthermore, an addition of a valence proton particle or hole, through neutron-proton (νπ) interaction, affects the neutron seniority as well as the angular momentum. Purpose: Benchmark the reproducibility of the experimental observables, like the excitation energies (EX) and the reduced electric-quadrupole transition probabilities [B(E2)], with the results obtained from shell-model interactions for ne…
Conceptual design of the TRACE detector readout using a compact, dead time-less analog memory ASIC
[EN] The new TRacking Array for light Charged particle Ejectiles (TRACE) detector system requires monitorization and sampling of all pulses in a large number of channels with very strict space and power consumption restrictions for the front-end electronics and cabling. Its readout system is to be based on analog memory ASICs with 64 channels each that sample a View the MathML source window of the waveform of any valid pulses at 200 MHz while discarding any other signals and are read out at 50 MHz with external ADC digitization. For this purpose, a new, compact analog memory architecture is described that allows pulse capture with zero dead time in any channel while vastly reducing the tota…
La predicción de la satisfacción con la vida en personas mayores de Angola: el efecto moderador del género
ResumenExiste abundante investigación que ha estudiado la satisfacción vital en personas mayores y ha encontrado evidencia empírica de sus mejores predictores. Cuando se estudia la satisfacción con la vida de las personas mayores y sus predictores se hallan diferencias en función del género incluyendo, por ejemplo, las interacciones con la viudedad. En este contexto, el presente estudio se ha centrado en los siguientes objetivos: (1) poner a prueba la invarianza en función del género de una medida de satisfacción con la vida, (2) predecir la satisfacción vital usando varias variables relacionadas con el proceso de envejecimiento y (3) poner a prueba el potencial efecto moderador del género …
Role of the Δ Resonance in the Population of a Four-Nucleon State in the Fe56→Fe54 Reaction at Relativistic Energies
The 54Fe nucleus was populated from a 56Fe beam impinging on a Be target with an energy of E=A ¼ 500 MeV. The internal decay via γ-ray emission of the 10þ metastable state was observed. As the structure of this isomeric state has to involve at least four unpaired nucleons, it cannot be populated in a simple two-neutron removal reaction from the 56Fe ground state. The isomeric state was produced in the low-momentum (-energy) tail of the parallel momentum (energy) distribution of 54Fe, suggesting that it was populated via the decay of the Δ0 resonance into a proton. This process allows the population of fournucleon states, such as the observed isomer. Therefore, it is concluded that the obser…
Thermographic imaging tool for children fracture detection
The feasibility of thermographic imaging to diagnose pediatric fractures has been studied in the last years. The advantages lie in being a cost-effective, non-harmful, non-contact and non-invasive technique, since ionizing radiations are not used to get the image. Once the pictures of the affected limb are taken, the processing becomes necessary. In order to reduce the waiting time, a software tool has been developed to provide a diagnosis shortly after taking the image. Sin financiación No data (2016) UEV
Optical Link Card Design for the Phase II Upgrade of TileCal Experiment
This paper presents the design of an optical link card developed in the frame of the R&D activities for the phase 2 upgrade of the TileCal experiment. This board, that is part of the evaluation of different technologies for the final choice in the next years, is designed as a mezzanine that can work independently or be plugged in the optical multiplexer board of the TileCal backend electronics. It includes two SNAP 12 optical connectors able to transmit and receive up to 75 Gb/s and one SFP optical connector for lower speeds and compatibility with existing hardware as the read out driver. All processing is done in a Stratix II GX field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Details are given on th…
A capacitor selector tool for on-board PDN designs in multigigabit applications
This paper presents a capacitor selector software tool for a proper on-board Power Distribution Network (PDN) design in those high-speed applications which have strict requirements on voltage noise up to the first hundreds of megahertz. Current commercial tools for PDN design only offer a manual choice of the capacitor value and their number simulating the board impedance profile. This manual resolution becomes very hard when the design has high power consumption and noise requirements are very strict. The aim of this software is to solve a basic on-board PDN design minimizing the number of "change simulate-analyze" iterations that have to be carried out in the manual PDN design. This softw…
Algorithms for the ROD DSP of the ATLAS Hadronic Tile Calorimeter
In this paper we present the performance of two algorithms currently running in the Tile Calorimeter Read-Out Driver boards for the commissioning of ATLAS. The first algorithm presented is the so called Optimal Filtering. It reconstructs the deposited energy in the Tile Calorimeter and the arrival time of the data. The second algorithm is the MTag which tags low transverse momentum muons that may escape the ATLAS muon spectrometer first level trigger. Comparisons between online (inside the Read-Out Drivers) and offline implementations are done with an agreement around 99% for the reconstruction of the amplitude using the Optimal Filtering algorithm and a coincidende of 93% between the offli…
Based on Compton Camera
Compton Cameras have been proposed as an alternative to SPECT imaging with Gamma Camera, mainly due to factors such as the electronic collimation, which allows a bigger field of view and provides further information from the acquired events if compared to devices with mechanical collimation. By contrast, this involves a higher amount of data to be processed. In medical devices this leads to waiting times that are generally higher than desirable by the health-care professionals. In this work we have assessed the reconstruction of Compton images by making use of iterative and non-iterative techniques, and also evaluated its performances as a SPECT imaging technique.
A VLSI for deskewing and fault tolerance in LVDS links
The device presented at this work is a switch implemented in a 0.35 mum CMOS process for compensating the skew which affects parallel data signal transmissions and for providing fault tolerance in large scale scalable systems, for instance used in trigger farms for high energy physics experiments. The SWIFT chip (SWItch for Fault Tolerance) is part of a cluster built around commercially components which has been inspired by the LHCb experiment. The skew is extremely important because it directly affects the sample window available to the receiver logic and either forces to use quality and expensive cables in order to minimize its effects or reduces the maximum signal transmission range or d…
The sROD demonstrator for the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter Upgrade
This work presents the early design of the super Read-Out Driver (sROD) demonstrator board for the Tile Calorimeter Demonstrator project. This project aims to test the new readout electronics architecture for the Phase 2 Upgrade of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter, replacing the front-end electronics of one complete drawer with the new electronics during the Long Shutdown 2013, in order to evaluate its performance. The sROD demonstrator board will receive and process data from 48 channels. Moreover the sROD demonstrator board will send preprocessed data to the present trigger system, and will transmit trigger control and timing information (TTC) and Detector Control System (DCS) commands to the f…
Improving bleeding detector features for electron intraoperative radiotherapy
Abstract Purpose The aim of this work is to improve the potential bleeding detection during intraoperative radiotherapy with linac polymethyl methacrylate applicators (PMMA), based on one previously developed. The improvements carried out have been focused on: i) minimizing the impact of the detector on the visual through the plastic applicators and ii) avoiding the asymmetry in the detection capability when the applicator is tilted. Methods Simulations have been made to select the geometry that provides a reduced visual impact on the applicator as well as allowing an independent response with the tilting angle of the applicator. A low-noise circuit for signal conditioning has been develope…
Lifetime measurement of neutron-rich even-even molybdenum isotopes
D. Ralet et al. -- 11 pags., 10 figs., 3 tabs.
Lifetime measurements in Ti52,54 to study shell evolution toward N=32
Lifetimes of the excited states in the neutron-rich Ti-52,Ti-54 nuclei, produced in a multinucleon-transfer reaction, were measured by employing the Cologne plunger device and the recoil-distance D ...
Multiple register synchronization with a high-speed serial link using the Aurora protocol
In this work, the development and characterization of a multiple synchronous registers interface communicating with a high-speed serial link and using the Aurora protocol is presented. A detailed description of the developing process and the characterization methods and hardware test benches are also included. This interface will implement the slow control busses of the digitizer cards for the second generation of electronics for the Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA).
Signal integrity studies at optical multiplexer board for TileCal system
6 pages.-- ISI Article Identifier: 000253651800006
Development of an optical link card for the upgrade phase II of TileCal experiment
This work presents the design of an optical link card developed in the frame of the R&D activities for the phase 2 upgrade of the TileCal experiment as part of the evaluation of different technologies for the final choice in the next two years. The board is designed as a mezzanine which can work independently or plugged in the Optical Multiplexer Board of the TileCal backend electronics. It includes two SNAP 12 optical connectors able to transmit and receive up to 75 Gbps and one SFP optical connector for lower speeds and compatibility with existing hardware as the Read Out Driver. All processing is done in a Stratix II GX FPGA. Details are given on the hardware design including signal and …
The ATLAS hadronic tile calorimeter: From construction toward-physics
ATLAS; The Tile Calorimeter, which constitutes the central section of the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter, is a non-compensating sampling device made of iron and scintillating tiles. The construction phase of the calorimeter is nearly complete, and most of the effort now is directed toward the final assembly and commissioning in the underground experimental hall. The layout of the calorimeter and the tasks carried out during construction are described, first with a brief reminder of the requirements that drove the calorimeter design. During the last few years a comprehensive test-beam program has been followed in order to establish the calorimeter electromagnetic energy scale, to study its unifo…
A New Front-End High-Resolution Sampling Board for the New-Generation Electronics of EXOGAM2 and NEDA Detectors
19th Real Time Conference (RT) -- MAY 26-30, 2014 -- Nara, JAPAN WOS: 000356458000028 This paper presents the final design and results of the FADC Mezzanine for the EXOGAM (EXOtic GAMma array spectrometer) and NEDA (Neutron Detector Array) detectors. The measurements performed include those of studying the effective number of bits, the energy resolution using HP-Ge detectors, as well as timing histograms and discrimination performance. Finally, the conclusion shows how a common digitizing device has been integrated in the experimental environment of two very different detectors which combine both low-noise acquisition and fast sampling rates. Not only the integration fulfilled the expected …
Evaluation of a commercial APD array (Avalanche PhotoDiode) for a readout detector in a hadrontherapy beam characterization application
The aim of the present work is the characterization of the S8898–128–02 Avalanche PhotoDiode array (APDs) from Hamamatsu Photonics. This work includes the implementation of a readout system as well as electronic noise estimation in APDs under several conditions varying integration times and clock frequencies.
Performance of the Fully Digital FPGA-Based Front-End Electronics for the GALILEO Array
In this work we present the architecture and results of a fully digital Front End Electronics (FEE) read out system developed for the GALILEO array. The FEE system, developed in collaboration with the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) collaboration, is composed of three main blocks: preamplifiers, digitizers and preprocessing electronics. The slow control system contains a custom Linux driver, a dynamic library and a server implementing network services. The digital processing of the data from the GALILEO germanium detectors has demonstrated the capability to achieve an energy resolution of 1.53 per mil at an energy of 1.33 MeV.
Digital pulse-timing technique for the neutron detector array NEDA
WOS: 000348040900011
Development of the optical multiplexer board prototype for data acquisition in TileCal experiment
The optical multiplexer board is one of the elements present in the read out chain of the tile calorimeter in ATLAS experiment. Due to radiation effects, two optical fibers with the same data come out from the front end boards to this board, which has to decide in real time which one carries good data and pass them to the read out driver motherboard for processing. This paper describes the design and tests of the first prototype, implemented as a 6U VME64x slave module, including both hardware and firmware aspects. In this last, algorithms for cyclic redundancy code checking are used to make the decision. Besides, the board may be used as a data injector for testing purposes of the read out…
Detector for monitoring potential bleeding during electron intraoperative radiotherapy
Purpose: The aim of this work is to develop a bleeding detector integrated into the acrylic circular applicators for specific mobile linacs. Thus, a bleeding detector has been developed based on a capacitive sensor to be used with plastic applicators, as in the case of LIAC HWL from Sordina IORT Technologies SpA. According to the clinical impact, we have selected 0.5 cm as the minimum depth of fluid that should be detected. Methods: An experiment was developed using water-simulating blood. Two setups were considered: non-beveled applicators with 7 cm and 10 cm diameter. Measurements were done for applicators 0 degrees and 45 degrees tilted, both with respect to the horizontal surface, in or…
Design of a mezzanine card with bandwidth aggregation for HPGe gamma spectroscopy
In experimental nuclear physics, HPGe segmented detectors are used to provide high energy resolution of the gamma rays. Besides, 4pi configuration is common to get a full coverage of the interaction point and detection of all the products of the collisions. In this type of experiments, the number of electronic channels can be high (>100) and also the sampling frequency of the digitizing system (>100 Msps). This results in a high data rate per channel (> 2 Gbps) and thus a high aggregated bandwidth to process. In principle, this problem can be solved using a parallel data acquisition system where the input channels (commonly arriving through optical fibers) are read and processed accordingly…
Evidence of octupole-phonons at high spin in 207Pb
A lifetime measurement of the 19/2 state in Pb has been performed using the Recoil Distance Doppler-Shift (RDDS) method. The nuclei of interest were produced in multi-nucleon transfer reactions induced by a Pb beam impinging on a Mo enriched target. The beam-like nuclei were detected and identified in terms of their atomic mass number in the VAMOS++ spectrometer while the prompt γ rays were detected by the AGATA tracking array. The measured large reduced transition probability B(E3,19/2→13/2)=40(8) W.u. is the first indication of the octupole phonon at high spin in Pb. An analysis in terms of a particle-octupole-vibration coupling model indicates that the measured B(E3) value in Pb is compa…
Pulse pile-up identification and reconstruction for liquid scintillator based neutron detectors
WOS: 000433206800010 The issue of pulse pile-up is frequently encountered in nuclear experiments involving high counting rates, which will distort the pulse shapes and the energy spectra. A digital method of off-line processing of pile-up pulses is presented. The pile-up pulses were firstly identified by detecting the downward-going zero-crossings in the first-order derivative of the original signal, and then the constituent pulses were reconstructed based on comparing the pile-up pulse with four models that are generated by combining pairs of neutron and.. standard pulses together with a controllable time interval. The accuracy of this method in resolving the pile-up events was investigate…
Pairing-quadrupole interplay in the neutron-deficient tin nuclei: First lifetime measurements of low-lying states in 106,108Sn
The lifetimes of the low-lying excited states 2(+) and 4(+) have been directly measured in the neutron-deficient Sn-106,Sn-108 isotopes. the nuclei were populated via a deep-inelastic reaction and the lifetime measurement was performed employing a differential plunger device. the emitted gamma rays were detected by the AGATA array, while the reaction products were uniquely identified by the VAMOS++ magnetic spectrometer. Large-Scale Shell-Model calculations with realistic forces indicate that, independently of the pairing content of the interaction, the quadrupole force is dominant in the B(E2; 2(1)(+) -> 0(g.s)(+)) values and it describes well the experimental pattern for Sn104-114 ; the B…
Fully digital FPGA-based Front-End Electronics for the GALILEO array
In this work we present the fully digital Front End Electronics (FEE) read out system developed for the GALILEO array. The system, developed in collaboration with the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) collaboration, is composed of three main blocks: preamplifiers, digitizers and preprocessing electronics. The slow control system contains a custom Linux driver, a dynamic library and a server implementing network services. The digital processing of the data from the GALILEO germanium detectors has demonstrated the capability to achieve an energy resolution of 1.53‰ at an energy of 1.33 MeV.
Performance of the Advanced GAmma Tracking Array at GANIL
The performance of the Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) at GANIL is discussed, on the basis of the analysis of source and in-beam data taken with up to 30 segmented crystals. Data processing is described in detail. The performance of individual detectors are shown. The efficiency of the individual detectors as well as the efficiency after $\gamma$-ray tracking are discussed. Recent developments of $\gamma$-ray tracking are also presented. The experimentally achieved peak-to-total is compared with simulations showing the impact of back-scattered $\gamma$ rays on the peak-to-total in a $\gamma$-ray tracking array. An estimate of the achieved position resolution using the Doppler broadeni…
Isospin dependence of electromagnetic transition strengths among an isobaric triplet
*Aydın, Sezgin ( Aksaray, Yazar )
The Optical Multiplexer Board for the ATLAS Hadronic Tile Calorimeter
This paper presents the architecture and the status of the optical multiplexer board (OMB) for the ATLAS/LHC tile hadronic calorimeter (TileCal). This board will analyze the front-end data CRC to prevent bit and burst errors produced by radiation. Besides, due to its position within the data acquisition chain it will be used to emulate front-end data for tests. The first two prototypes of the final OMB 9U version have been produced at CERN. Detailed design issues and manufacturing features of these prototypes are described. These prototypes are being validated while firmware developments are being implemented in the programmable devices of the board.
Development of the Optical Multiplexer Board Prototype for Data Acquisition in the TileCal System
This paper describes the development of the optical multiplexer board (OMB), also known as PreROD board, for the TileCal readout system in the ATLAS experiment. The aim of this board is to overcome the problems that may arise in the integrity of data due to radiation effects. The solution adopted has been to add redundancy to data transmission and so two optical fibers with the same data come out from the detector front end boards. The OMB has to decide in real time which fiber, eventually, carries data with no errors switching it to the output link connected to the read out driver (ROD) motherboard where data processing takes place. Besides, the board may be also used as a data injector fo…
Graphical user interface for serial protocols through a USB link
In this work, a graphical user interface to communicate with three common serial protocols is presented. With one tool, the user may be able to control several evaluation boards from different manufacturers or evaluate and program integrated circuits of complex board prototypes. It provides a user-friendly interface to communicate with several chips using the USB port. The program has been used for the first stages in the qualification process of electronic boards for the Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA).
Basic Concepts of Power Distribution Network Design for High-Speed Transmission
This paper tries to gather the Power Distribution Network (PDN) techniques used to preserve power integrity in PCB designs when transmitting data rates over 6 Gbps using the newest commercial optical modules. The PDN design described allows for proper impedance control of the power supply with the appropriate choice of the number, location and values of capacitors. This method needs the knowledge of the electrical RLC model of the regulators, copper planes, capacitors and vias used in the PCB. A particular case of PDN design will be presented for a module using one SNAP12 optical transmitter and one receiver connected to an Altera Stratix II GX FPGA. This board is designed to work with data…
Measurement of pion and proton response and longitudinal shower profiles up to 20 nuclear interaction lengths with the ATLAS Tile calorimeter
The response of pions and protons in the energy range of 20–180 GeV, produced at CERN's SPS H8 test-beam line in the ATLAS iron–scintillator Tile hadron calorimeter, has been measured. The test-beam configuration allowed the measurement of the longitudinal shower development for pions and protons up to 20 nuclear interaction lengths. It was found that pions penetrate deeper in the calorimeter than protons. However, protons induce showers that are wider laterally to the direction of the impinging particle. Including the measured total energy response, the pion-to-proton energy ratio and the resolution, all observations are consistent with a higher electromagnetic energy fraction in pion-indu…
Optimal filtering algorithm implementation in FPGAs for the ATLAS TileCal Read-Out drivers
TileCal is the hadronic calorimeter of the ATLAS experiment in the LHC (CERN). Its Read-Out Drivers (RODs) process, in real time, the digitized information coming from the front-end electronics and send it to the Read-Out System. Data processing in the ROD boards is performed in Processing Unit Mezzanine Cards that use commercial DSPs to run the Optimal Filtering (OF) algorithms.
Development of the control card for the digitizers of the second generation electronics of AGATA
In this work, the features and development process of the novel control card for the digitizers of AGATA are presented. The board is part of the new hardware proposed for the electronic system of the experiment. In particular, the control card provides the sampling clock for the digitizers, contributes to the synchronization of the digital data and performs the slow control of its associated digitizer cards.
Test of digital neutron-gamma discrimination with four different photomultiplier tubes for the NEutron Detector Array (NEDA)
WOS: 000344994600012
Mechanical construction and installation of the ATLAS tile calorimeter
This paper summarises the mechanical construction andinstallation of the Tile Calorimeter for the ATLASexperiment at the Large Hadron Collider in CERN, Switzerland. The TileCalorimeter is a sampling calorimeter using scintillator as the sensitivedetector and steel as the absorber and covers the central region of the ATLASexperiment up to pseudorapidities ±1.7. The mechanical construction ofthe Tile Calorimeter occurred over a periodof about 10 years beginning in 1995 with the completionof the Technical Design Report and ending in 2006 with the installationof the final module in the ATLAS cavern. Duringthis period approximately 2600 metric tons of steel were transformedinto a laminated struc…
Clinical Applications
The study of the diagnostic accuracy of Infrared Thermal Imaging in the diagnosis of orthopaedic injuries in childhood has been motivated by the high incidence of these injuries throughout the world, being one of the most common reasons for urgent medical consultation. Diagnosis of musculoskeletal injuries usually involves radiography, but this exposes children without fractures to unnecessary ionising radiation. This chapter assesses whether infrared thermography could provide a viable alternative in cases of trauma. To evaluate the accuracy of this technique new thermographic variables have been added to those commonly analysed, such as the extent of the injury and the difference in the s…
Low-lying electric dipole gamma-continuum for the unstable Fe-62,64 nuclei : Strength evolution with neutron number
6 pags., 4 figs.
The ATLAS tile calorimeter ROD injector and multiplexer board
Abstract The ATLAS Tile Calorimeter is a sampling detector composed by cells made of iron-scintillator tiles. The calorimeter cell signals are digitized in the front-end electronics and transmitted to the Read-Out Drivers (RODs) at the first level trigger rate. The ROD receives triggered data from up to 9856 channels and provides the energy, phase and quality factor of the signals to the second level trigger. The back-end electronics is divided into four partitions containing eight RODs each. Therefore, a total of 32 RODs are used to process and transmit the data of the TileCal detector. In order to emulate the detector signals in the production and commissioning of ROD modules a board call…
Ongoing Evolution in the Genus Crocus: Diversity of Flowering Strategies on the Way to Hysteranthy
[EN] Species of the genus Crocus are found over a wide range of climatic areas. In natural habitats, these geophytes diverge in the flowering strategies. This variability was assessed by analyzing the flowering traits of the Spanish collection of wild crocuses, preserved in the Bank of Plant Germplasm of Cuenca. Plants of the seven Spanish species were analyzed both in their natural environments (58 native populations) and in common garden experiments (112 accessions). Differences among species observed in the native habitats were maintained under uniform environmental conditions, suggesting a genetic basis for flowering mechanisms. Two eco-morphological types, autumn- and spring-flowering …
Maximum Likelihood Estimation and non-linear least squares fitting with Levenberg-Marquardt Algorithm implementation in FPGA devices for high resolution hodoscopy
This work compares two possible solutions to achieve a higher resolution in a hodoscope based on Plastic Scintillating Fibers (PSF) by obtaining the point of maximum incidence of the radioactive beam. The two fitting algorithms proposed have been tested and implemented in Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices. On one hand, a probabilistic model based on the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) and on the other hand, non-linear least-squares fit with the Levenberg-Marquardt Algorithm (LMA).
Study of isomeric states in $^{198,200,202,206}$Pb and $^{206}$Hg populated in fragmentation reactions
International audience; Isomeric states in isotopes in the vicinity of doubly-magic 208Pb were populatedfollowing reactions of a relativistic 208Pb primary beam impinging on a9Be fragmentation target. Secondary beams of 198,200,202,206Pb and 206Hg wereisotopically separated and implanted in a passive stopper positioned in thefocal plane of the GSI Fragment Separator. Delayed γ rays were detected withthe Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA). Decay schemes were reevaluatedand interpreted with shell-model calculations. The momentumdependentpopulation of isomeric states in the two-nucleon hole nuclei206Pb/206Hg was found to differ from the population of multi neutron-holeisomeric states in 198…
Study and simulation of the read-out electronics design for a high-resolution plastic scintillating fiber based hodoscope
Abstract This work presents the study and simulation of a high-resolution charged particle detection device for beam positioning, monitoring and calibration, together with its read-out proposal. To provide the precise positional information of the beam, the detection system has been based on Plastic Scintillating Fibers (PSF), while the read-out on a Silicon-PhotoDiode (Si-PD) array. To carry out the study, a PSF prototype with one detection plane has been experimentally tested with a β particle source. Besides, Monte Carlo simulations of the complete system have also been conducted. Both simulations and experimental tests give consistency to the results obtained. The work presented in this…
A new preprocessing and control board for the phase 2 electronics of AGATA experiment
The electronics of AGATA HPGe segmented gamma ray detector faces a new challenge in the search of a bigger integration and cost reduction for the phase 2 of the experiment going beyond 45 crystals. This opportunity can be used to introduce a new architecture based on commercial standards while keeping backward compatibility with current electronics. In this sense, new FPGA devices and fast Ethernet links can be used to ease the preprocessing and control task and allowing for processor farms to distribute the processing load. At the same time, modularity should be a key feature of the design in the aim to make it upgradable in time and technology. This paper presents the design of a new prep…
AGATA-Advanced GAmma Tracking Array
WOS: 000300864200005
Isospin Properties of Nuclear Pair Correlations from the Level Structure of the Self-Conjugate Nucleus Ru88
The low-lying energy spectrum of the extremely neutron-deficient self-conjugate (N = Z) nuclide 88 44Ru44 has been measured using the combination of the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) spectrometer, the NEDA and Neutron Wall neutron detector arrays, and the DIAMANT charged particle detector array. Excited states in 88Ru were populated via the 54Fe(36Ar; 2n )88Ru fusion-evaporation reaction at the Grand Acc�el�erateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL) accelerator complex. The observed -ray cascade is assigned to 88Ru using clean prompt - -2-neutron coincidences in anti-coincidence with the detection of charged particles, con�rming and extending the previously assigned sequence of low-lyin…